Florida's Third District Court of Appeals Senior Judge Alan R. Schwartz wrote that the adoption of a "paramour" or lover was "so contrary to the beneficent purposes of such an action" that it could not be
confirmed by the court, according to court documents.

Goodman, a 49-year-old multimillionaire who founded the International Polo Club in West Palm Beach, Fla., made headlines when he adopted his girlfriend, Heather Hutchins, 42, in an attempt to preserve part of his fortune for her while negotiating a civil suit settlement.

Carroll Goodman, John Goodman's ex-wife and the mother of their two children, filed the appeal, according to court records.

Attorneys for Goodman and his ex-wife could not immediately be reached for comment.

In 2011, a trial court in Palm Beach County approved the adoption. As a result, Hutchins was recognized as another one of Goodman's "children" under the trust fund that had been set up by him and Carroll Goodman for their biological children in 1991.

According to court documents, John Goodman and Hutchins entered an adoption agreement contract that paid her $5 million immediately at the signing of agreement, another $3 million by the end of 2012, and lifetime payments valued at an estimated $8.75 million -- a total of $16.75 million over time. The agreement also allowed Hutchins to request additional amounts from the trust.

On May 11, 2012, a Florida judge said in court that Goodman "left to save himself" after his Bentley slammed into 23-year-old Scott Wilson's Hyundai and sent the car into a nearby canal in Wellington, Fla., in the February 2010 accident.

Wilson, an engineering graduate, was strapped into the driver's seat and drowned.

At the time of the court case, Judge Jeffrey Colbath granted that Goodman could be released on a $7 million bond pending his appeal. As conditions for his release, he was placed under house arrest and monitored 24 hours a day with a GPS device and could not apply for a new passport. His driver's license was also permanently revoked.

Goodman claimed in court that his $200,000 car malfunctioned and lurched forward. He has also denied being drunk at the time of the crash that killed Wilson, although other testimony has contradicted him and his blood alcohol level was more than twice the legal limit three hours after the crash.

Prosecutors said Goodman left the scene of the accident without calling 911.

"Scott Wilson's death was senseless," Colbath told the court at the time.

"His conduct from the moment the crash happened to the time he came to be in the custody of law enforcement was to save himself," the judge said. "It wasn't to go get help and it wasn't because he was disoriented. It was because he wanted to figure out a way to save himself. He had an opportunity to try to save Mr. Wilson."

"I believe what the jury believed -- that he knew he pushed [Wilson's] car in the canal. He knew there was someone in the canal and he left to try to save himself," Colbath said.

Last April, court documents revealed that Goodman agreed to a $46 million payment to Wilson's parents, Lili and William Wilson. Each received $23 million in the settlement.

In his decision today to void Goodman's adult adoption of Hutchins, Schwartz cited the crash, the trust fund John and Carroll Goodman had set up in 1991 for their two biological children, and that Goodman gave his ex-wife "no notice of the adoption proceeding."

Recommended for You

A kindhearted stranger has paid off more than $900 in overdue lunch balances for students at an elementary school in Herminie, Pennsylvania. "We're calling him our 'Secret Santa,'" said Amy Larcinese, principal of HW Good Elementary School.

When the Ugly Christmas Sweater Shop in Dallas, Texas, decided to expand and open new locations this year, its owner took an unconventional approach to hiring new employees. He had them submit a video of their best dance moves, reported ABC affiliate WFAA in Dallas. "We found a lot of great people

A dinosaur tail preserved in amber has been discovered for the first time ever, researchers announced on Thursday in a paper published in the scientific journal Cell Biology. The feather-covered tail is from a dinosaur that lived on Earth about 99 million years ago, according to a news release from

A woman with a double amputation was left lying on the ground for several minutes after she fell off her wheelchair while being arrested at a gas station in Miami-Dade County, Florida, according to videos captured by witnesses and a police officer's body camera. The woman who was arrested -- 52-

A 4-year-old California girl battling leukemia took over the city of Sacramento today as Make-A-Wish transformed her into a princess for a day. Alyla Stamp, 4, of Yuba City, California, was surprised this morning with a trip to a Macy’s department store in Sacramento where she received her princess

As locals near Washington, D.C.’s Comet Pizza restaurant know too well, fake news headlines can have real-world implications. Edgar Welch allegedly fired three shots at the local hotspot after driving 350 miles from North Carolina in order to investigate a fake news story that the pizzeria was home

The former boyfriend of Anastasia Duval, whose twin sister, Alexandria Duval, has been charged with murdering her -- after an SUV driven by Alexandria plunged off a cliff in Hawaii in May -- has given his first TV interview, during which he described the pair's tenuous relationship. Alexandria Duval

T.J. Miller, the host of the Critics’ Choice Awards, was arrested early this morning on a battery charge only two days before the live show airs. Police arrested the HBO “Silicon Valley” actor after officers responded to the 6900 block of Camrose Drive in Los Angeles at 1 a.m. where a car company driver

Stepping onto this Pittsburgh city bus is like taking a ride on Santa’s sleigh.For more than a decade, driver Bill Sanfilippo has decked out his bus in head-to-toe Christmas decorations.“People love it. It puts a smile on their face,” the 12-year veteran of Allegheny County Port Authority told ABC News.Every

In July, Taylor Swift hosted a big Independence Day party, and both Ryan Reynolds and Blake Lively attended. One photo in particular stuck out of Reynolds, Lively, Swift, her then-beau Tom Hiddleston, and another couple. All had big smiles on their faces, but Reynolds had a pretty lackluster look.

Behold, the chocolate chip taco cookie with chocolate peppermint mousse. It's the whimsical culinary creation of celebrated chef David Burke and ABC News' "Good Morning America" went inside the kitchen at his newest New York City restaurant, Tavern 62, and learned how to make the holiday

President Obama has ordered a "full review" of what the intelligence community has called Russian hacking activity related to the 2016 election and expects to receive the report before he leaves office, a senior White House official said today. “The president has directed the intelligence

Actor Ryan Gosling discussed his upcoming musical "La La Land," and his own personal experience of moving to Los Angeles to follow his dreams in an interview with "Good Morning America" that aired today. "You know, it's not easy to leave your hometown and your family and

African-American model Deddeh Howard is on a mission to change the fashion industry, one revolutionary image at a time. Howard posted photos of herself recreating ad campaigns, such as Kendall Jenner for Calvin Klein, Gigi Hadid for Guess and Kate Moss for David Yurman, in a project she called “Black

A woman accused of murdering her twin sister by driving their vehicle off a cliff in Hawaii waived her right to an extradition hearing in a New York court this morning. Alexandria Duval, 38, entered the Albany County courtroom in shackles, a yellow jumpsuit and with her long blonde hair pulled back.

The first trailer for "Spider-Man: Homecoming" is here and there's a lot to take in, including a new villain, a new suit, new friend and ... new lady loves? The clip, which premiered last night on "Jimmy Kimmel Live," opens with Spidey doing what he does best. Next, we take

In fact, Helen and Al Giugliano are hilariously irate as Gabriella Rutigliano treks to class as she's studying nursing at Quinnipiac University in Hamden, Connecticut. The two, who now reside in Hauppauge, New York, have four daughters, nine grandchildren and three great-grandchildren between them

Florida Gov. Rick Scott announced today that Florida is now clear of locally-transmitted Zika for the first time since July. Since the Zika outbreak was announced in the state, four zones of ongoing Zika transmission had been identified and subsequently cleared in recent months. Today the last &quot

Celine Dion is celebrating the holidays for the first time without her late husband, René Angélil.Angélil, who had also been Dion's manager for decades and her husband since 1994, passed away Jan. 14 after a long battle with throat cancer. He died two days before his 74th birthday.Dion told the New